Damaged
by Marish89
Summary: After something horrific happens to Elliot and Olivia, will they ever be able to recover?
1. Chapter 1

She was terrified. As her captor's hands abused her skin, his face leered at her. Suddenly, a strong voice interrupted the man's brutal crime.

"Let her go!" Her savior yelled viciously.

Her captor pulled the scarf around her neck tighter, so that she was struggling for air. She vaguely thought both voices were familiar, but was still rather groggy from the chloroform she had been forced to inhale.

"No!" The man yelled, "Please, just let her go, I'll do anything. Just let her go!" He pleaded once more.

Her captor stared at the man; he really had no idea of what he had fallen into. The captor decided to entertain the man's hope.

"You'll do whatever I say, if I let her go?" The captor asked, still holding the scarf tight around her neck.

"Yes," the man said quickly, "I'll do anything."

Coming out of her catatonic state, she recognized the voice trying to free her.

"No," she whispered, using most of her strength, "No, Elliot, go. I'll be fine. Go!"

Elliot stared at her in disbelief. Did she honestly expect him to leave her with a rapist?

"Liv, I'm not leaving. I don't care what you say. I'm not leaving you here with this animal." He stated strongly.

"Shut up!" the man yelled, "You," he said pointing a gun suddenly at Elliot; "You go over there and enjoy the show." He motioned for Elliot to take a seat across the other side of the room.

Elliot remained motionless. He was not about to let this pig rape Olivia in front of him, he wasn't going to let anyone rape Olivia, period.

"Come on," he said coaxingly toward the masked man, "If we end this now, you can come out of here unhar-". He didn't get to finish his sentence as the man had charged at Elliot with a cloth soaked in chloroform.

The last coherent thought he had was he had to save Olivia.

Captain Cragen walked into the squad room feeling distinctly happy and enlightened.

"Morning Munch," he said exuberantly, "Morning Fin."

"Morning Cap," they echoed simultaneously, obviously suspicious of their captain's sudden good humor.

As the captain entered his office, his good mood evaporated instantly.

"Munch, Fin. Get in here now" he screamed anxiously.

Both Munch and Fin shared a confused look and headed toward the captain's office. However, just shy of the door, both stopped, unable to believe what they were viewing.

Inside the captain's office, a TV had a live feed from another source. On the TV, was a man engaged in sexual activity with someone who was obviously fighting him. As they heard the woman yell and the man moved, all three occupants of the room gasped, shocked at the identity of the woman.

It was clear the woman, Olivia, was fighting a loosing battle as her struggle became less vicious and her kicks, punches and slaps lacked energy. The three men watched the images in a horrified trance, only stepping out when a voice in the doorway gasped.

"Oh God," Casey whispered, horrified "Oh my God!" She suddenly burst into hysterical sobs, sliding down the wall, until she sat with her arms wrapped tightly around her knees, which were drawn up against her chest.

"Munch," Cragen said, issuing commands "help Casey and call Elliot. Fin, you tell Huang and contact TARU."

Both men nodded solemnly before leaving with Casey.

The captain sunk at the desk. He couldn't believe it. How had he let the woman he considered a daughter get captured?

A sudden ring from the screen alerted is attention back to the disturbing images. He quickly looked outside his office to see Munch on the phone, obviously talking to voicemail. If Elliot wasn't answering his cell, he was in trouble. And considering that he and Olivia were rarely apart, Cragen was willing to bet his pension that Elliot was somewhere in the same room as Olivia.

A voice came across the video feed, which Don quickly identified as Elliot's.

"Get away from her you son-of-a-bitch!" Elliot screamed racing across the room and into view of the camera.

Don watched in horror as two of his best detectives were brutally beaten and Olivia was once again raped.

"Captain," came Munch's voice, sounding more troubled than before, "I can't get hold of Elliot on his cell."

"Munch," Don interrupted before the worried detective could continue, "Elliot's with Liv. Look," he said quietly.

Munch's gaze immediately shifted to the television screen.

"No," he muttered, "No, it can't be!" Munch was clearly distraught, his gaze not trained on the unconscious detectives but the man still beating them.

"What?" Cragen asked anxiously, "What is it?"

"That guy. I know that guy. He was one of Olivia's ex-boyfriends." He paused, "Damn it! I can't remember his name. Liv said he was a bit paranoid and jealous but it was nothing to worry about. I should have insisted she have him charged or at least have a restraining order against him. Damn it!"

"John," Don said firmly, "There was nothing you could have done. You know Olivia, she's headstrong. She would have just ignored you. Now, please, just try to remember the guy's name instead of beating yourself up."

Munch nodded dejectedly and walked over to his desk before staring into space, obviously in deep thought.

Before Cragen's gaze could return to the screen, Fin walked into his office, closely followed by Huang.

"George, any idea's what he might do? Who he is? What he wants? Cragen asked the psychiatrist quickly.

"Let me watch for a little while, and I'll have a better idea. Do you know anything about him?"

"Munch recognized him to be one of Olivia's old boyfriends who he suggested to Liv to take out a restraining order, or to be arrested. But you know Liv, stubborn as can be. She refused. Said it wasn't a problem. He's trying to remember who he is now." Cragen answered quickly, hoping it would be of help to Huang in his psychological insight into the perp's behavior.

Upon hearing this, Fin raced out the door and headed to Munch, who was still thinking desperately. As Fin whispered something, Munch gasped and nodded before both of them headed in the direction of Cragen's office.

"Cap," Munch began, excitedly, "his name's Nick Ganzner. He's a reporter for the New York Ledger. He dated Liv during the 'Subway Rapist' case but wouldn't let go of her when she broke up with him. During a couple of other cases, he's harassed her, threatened her among other things.

Cragen nodded, a small smile playing at the corner of his mouth, "You and Fin go pick him up and Huang –"

Don was abruptly cut off by a loud booming voice coming from the television set.

"So now that you know who I am, don't try to find me. You won't. I didn't leave a paper trail, I used aliases, and I'm not going to familiar ground. You won't find me, and don't try to analyze me, it won't get you far." He said mockingly.

"How does he -?" Cragen was once again interrupted by the booming voice.

"Oh, I bugged your office while I was there last night. You know, you really shouldn't let Liv work that late by herself. She was too tired to really fight me. Wasn't much fun, so I called Elliot. He's an angry, possessive one, isn't he?" Nick asked rhetorically, "Anyway, we had some fun then didn't we?" he asked. When she refused to answer, he hit the back of her head heavily, drawing away his gun soaked in Olivia's blood.

"Well, she obviously doesn't want to answer that, do you Livvie?" looking at her body, bloody and broken as it was, appraisingly.

"No matter. Now for the rest of my story. Fell free to ask any questions. I'll be more than happy to answer them. Since I got them here, they haven't been much fun." He said dejectedly.

"Why?" Munch asked brokenly, "Why'd you have to do this to them?"

"Livvie shouldn't have rejected me. She's too in love with her stupid partner, that she couldn't see we were soul mates. That we belong together; I think she knows that now though!"

"What are you going to do with them?" Huang asked, "Are you going to kill Elliot and force Liv into a relationship with you? Because if you don't get her to a hospital soon, she's gonna die and I am sure you don't want that. Wouldn't that defeat the purpose of your wonderfully crafter plan?"

"Shut up, you stupid shrink!" he yelled causing Olivia to cringe in the background though this went unnoticed by the enraged man. "I don't care if she lives or dies. I just wanted to experience her, and I wanted to experience me, you know, find out what she missed."

Munch bit back a retort that was dying to burst forth from his lips.

"Now, that I've explored everything. I'll be going. By the way, if you want to find them alive, you'll have 264 hours to find them before they run out of air, if they haven't already passed away from their grievous injuries." He said mockingly.

He waved sarcastically and raced off in the dark leaving a barely conscious Olivia gingerly trying to say something, and a still unconscious Elliot.

As they were about to leave the office a weak voice came from the television.

"Gitano," she mumbled, almost incoherent, "ware…ware house" she stated, obviously fighting to stay awake.

"You stupid bitch!" Nick yelled from off screen, before puling the trigger of his gun, the bullet lodging firmly in Olivia's arm, which she had moved at the last moment, to protect her stomach.

She yelled in pain, before cradling her bleeding arm to her body. In the background they heart the distant clatter of footsteps running.

"Hang on, Liv!" Cragen stated, trying to comfort her, "We're coming to get you!"

Olivia was clearly distraught. She was mumbling something continuously while rocking back and forth, eyes darting wildly, frightened around the room.

Munch and Fin had both taken off the moment, she had uttered the word 'warehouse'. Huang had stayed stationary, critically analyzing Olivia's behavior. It was readily apparent she would need extensive therapy to overcome this enormously traumatic event.

She was so strong, but to see her so broken broke both Cragen and Huang's hearts. They both doubted if she would ever be the same. George knew that to overcome this, she would need to completely break in order to repair all the damage that had been done to her, not only in the last 24 hours.

Casey walked into the office, obviously more collected than when she had left.

"What's going on?" she asked quietly, "Munch and Fin raced out of here. They wouldn't tell me what's going on."

"We know where they are. The warehouse where Gitano was holding Elliot at gun point. Munch and Fin are going to pick them up."

"Oh, thank God!" Casey sighed, grateful, "I can't image what they are going through. I've never seen Liv so broken."

"Cragen and Huang nodded, before the three of them sat by the desk anxiously awaiting the rescue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two: **

****

Almost an hour later, Cragen's cell began to ring. Recognizing the number as Munch, he immediately answered.

"Yes," he asked anxiously.

"Cap, we can't go in. There are explosives attached, and a tube emptying oxygen from the room. There's a slot for food but it's too small for people," he paused, "Wait, Fin found a tape here listen!"

_"I see you found my hiding spot. Heed my words and they might get out of there alive. And remember, I'm watching! First, the explosives will go off if you try to get in the warehouse without disarming them, there are 10 detonators. Second, the air will run out in 2 days, assuming neither of them panic. Third, don't even try to find me before you get them out, or they will blow sky high! Lastly, I'll be in contact shortly, if you want your detectives, you'll heed my words, requests and commands. So this is goodbye for now," _there was a pause,_ 'Oh by the way, I think I finally broke your precious poor 'Livia. It was so much fun!" _

A silence on both ends of the telephone followed this disturbing message.

"Um, well. Cap, what do you think?" Munch asked, though clearly shocked by the message.

"As much as I hate to say it, you and Fin should get back here so we can plan what to do next." The captain said, authoritatively.

"Okay. Be back in an hour." Munch said as the cell disconnected.

"Well," Don said, turning to Huang, who was wearing a thoughtful expression, "What do you think?"

"I think we should go somewhere else to discuss this. Somewhere we know he hasn't bugged."

"Let's go to my apartment. He can't have known about me, or where I live. I just moved two weeks ago." Casey said, leading the discussion.

Both Huang and Cragen nodded. They couldn't risk their conversation being taped, so they texted the plan to Munch and Fin, who then responded in kind.

At Casey's apartment, the moment they closed the door, everyone was silent, looking at Huang for his ideas and analysis.

"I think this guy is telling the truth. If we find where his camera's are, and we get rid of them. After that, we can disarm the bombs. How, I'm not sure, but that would be the ideal plan. But until we can get rid of the camera's, just feed them and get some medical supplies to them." Huang said apologetically, "Olivia needs urgent psychiatric help, but also some medical care. Elliot needs his wounds treated before they get infected, he's also going to need help, but it's not nearly as urgent."

"Can you help them there or do they need to be out here?" Casey asked anxiously.

"No, they need to wait. Making them vulnerable in their current situation would make them worse."

"Ok, so what are we going to do now?" Casey asked again, nervously.

"Get TARU in here, is that okay, Casey?" Cragen asked her, as he looked around the small apartment.

"It's fine," she paused, "But wouldn't it be better they go straight over to the warehouse?"

"For what purpose?" Cragen asked angrily, "We need to sweep for bugs."

"If you send them over there, they could intercept the footage and send them fake images to him, while we get someone to disable to detonators."

"That's a great idea." Munch said enthusiastically. His face suddenly dropped and Huang spoke for him, as if reading his mind.

"What are we gonna feed them while we sabotage the bombs? And we have to feed them, they haven't had anything in two days. Also we have to give them something so they can know what's going on."

"Well, if we give them food today, you could have a small recorder s that what we feed them is today's footage not tomorrow's. Then keep repeating the footage but make a huge gap before it loops. What do you think?" she asked, aware of everyone looking at her quite strangely.

"Great! How did you come up with this? It sounds like something out of a novel." Munch replied.

"It is out of a novel, I finished it last week." Casey passed the novel mentioned to Munch, who looked at it interestedly before placing it back on the table.

Fin, who had been silent through all of this spoke, "So any particular things we need to get them? I got a first aid kit here, so a we need is food and drink. Anything that'll help them, doc?" Fin asked, effectively grabbing the attention of the room.

Huang nodded before replying "They need lots of water, a few pieces of fruit and quite a lot of carbohydrates and sugars."

"Also put in my mobile, that way we can reach them, and they can reach us also." Cragen added quickly.

Very soon the group had sorted out different allocations of the tasks, all to be completed and returned to the apartment by the next hour. Before they began on their way, Casey quickly asked, "They're gonna be okay, righ?"

Both Munch and Fin responded, immediately affirmative. Cragen simply nodded his head, but Huang looked worried.

Noticing Huang's grim expression, Casey quickly asked, "What?"

"I'm just worried that if they do make it out of this alive, the damage to their psyche won't be repairable. I suppose I'm worried that if that happens, none of you in the unit would survive.

Everyone pondered these words silently. Casey blinked back tears fiercely, she was not going to cry again. She needed to be strong for her friends. If Olivia died, the unit would cease to exist as it was. Casey would go back to white collar crimes, Munch would really reitire, Fin would transfer back to narcotics and Cragen would put in his 20 and retire. She was such an intergral part of the unit, they were sure they couldn't go on without her.

Now, if Elliot passed on, it would affect the unit almost more. He was the rock and foundation on which Olivia could build and find her strength. If something happened to him, Olivia would be broken and the unit would be more damaged than if she passed away.

Olivia and Elliot, they were each other's other half. They were so in love, so true absolute soul mates. If one hurt, the other hurt, if one cried, the other did too. Yet, as smart as his two lead detectives were, neither had figured out their emotions and he knew that when they did, it was going to be beautiful. That was until the kidnapping.

Whatever damage occurred would change them forever.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three:**

Olivia looked around groggily, painfully aware of the gunshot wounds to her arms, the bruises and swelling that covered her neck and the growing ache between her legs. She almost wished she was dead, she wouldn't have to live with the knowledge that she was the cause of this man's delusions and Elliot's horrific injuries.

She painfully rolled and turned her head, lying unconscious on the ground, was Elliot. There was marked bruising around his eyes, blood caked on both cheeks, a split lip and his clothing was torn to shreds. Beneath the shreds of clothing, she glimpsed his chest, black and blue bruises in various shapes and sizes covered him.

Olivia felt a lone tear slide down her cheek. This was all her fault, all her damn fault. She should have complied more, she shouldn't have fought him, she shouldn't have screamed, she shouldn't have been so stupid. She scolded herself. It was her fault that Elliot had been injured, and because of that, she wanted to die. Still scolding herself, she fell into a deep slumber.

Hours later, she woke from her scolding slumber, plagued with nightmares. Nightmares which encompassed her main basic fear; that she was unlovable. If she ever got out of here alive, she was sure that Elliot would blame her for his injuries, the unit would blame her for her stupidity and everyone she cared about would hate her.

As much as she thought she deserved it, she couldn't bare the thought. She was going to have to cut herself off from everyone that she loved. But first she was going to make sure that she and Elliot survived. If he didn't, she knew it wouldn't matter that she did.

As she got up from the blanket, a terrible pain shot through her. '_Suck it up_' she thought roughly to herself. As she walked across the room to Elliot, her strength left her, and she collapsed, unconscious, by his side.

Elliot came out of his unconscious state, aware that something warm and soft was laying by his side. As he woke up and opened his eyes, he realized that the 'thing' lightly gripping his hand was Olivia. He quickly assessed the injuries. She had an obviously broken wrist, blood matted in her hair, a pair of black eyes, almost swollen shut, blood was caked anywhere that was visible. As he looked at the skin beneath her shredded clothes, he glimpsed skin black and blue from various obvious beatings.

Overcome by a great sadness, he felt tears sting the back of his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. He needed to be strong for her, if she was alright, he might then worry more about himself.

As he dwelled on his thoughts, he felt her stir beside him, her face burrowing deeply in his neck. He gently stroked her back, a loving gesture that overwhelmed Olivia, who began to sob desperately in his arms. Elliot enveloped her in his arms, whispering soothing nothings in her ear. After almost half an hour, Olivia began to calm down.

"Liv," he said gently, quite worried about her. She had never sobbed so much before, "Liv, honey, are you alright?"

He knew that it was a stupid question, but if she answered with her usual "I'm fine", he knew that she would fully recover. Instead of answering Elliot's question how he had expected, Olivia let out a dry sob, shook her head and hugged him tighter, as if trying to loose herself within his strength.

Elliot's concern increased, as she had not yet uttered a single word. He didn't know how, but he knew that if she didn't speak now, she was not going to recover from this brutal assault.

"Come on Liv," he coached gently, "Say 'I'm fine.'"

At the sound of his voice, Olivia pulled herself closer to him, burrowing further into his neck.

"Liv," he stated more firmly, "Come on, baby, say anything. Anything, you can call me a stupid pig, I don't care. But hone, please say something." He started to beg.

Despite the fact the Olivia was obviously not going to speak, Elliot continued to talk to her, Olivia gaining comfort from hearing his voice.

A few hours later, Elliot looked down at Olivia, who was still firmly snuggled again him, and had his hand in a death grip, both arms grasping his sides tightly. Slowly he began to drift off also, hoping he would have more luck with her tomorrow.

All the supplies had been gotten, and were bundled together in one of Casey's old backpacks. As no one had returned to the station they had no idea of the condition either one was in.

Munch and Fin headed out to the warehouse discussing the possible conditions Elliot and Olivia could be in. Both were quite worried about the possibility that neither would ever recover.

As they arrived at the warehouse, they noticed the open slide where the food was supposed to go. They slid the food through the slot, careful to keep an eye out for any camera's. Munch and Fin headed back to the car. When they were a safe distance away, they stopped and rang the number of the phone they had left behind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four: **

****

A sudden thump from the direction of the doorway woke both Elliot and Olivia. Olivia stifled a gasp and attempted to bury herself further into him. Elliot got up gingerly, almost dragging Olivia with him toward the doorway.

A bundle lay below a shoot, with an NYPD label on an old backpack, which both Elliot and Olivia immediately recognized as Casey's.

As they opened the backpack, they pulled out a phone, they recognized to be Don Cragen's. As they investigated further, the backpack contained a nice selection of food, such as fruit, snack bars, water and other foods. Elliot grabbed and unwrapped a snack bar handing it to Olivia before grabbing a bar for himself.

Olivia stared at the bar in her hand, as though she had never seen one before. Cautiously she took a bite, slowly chewing and slowly swallowing as if she had forgotten how to eat.

Slowly as she began to get accustomed to this place and realizing the backpack didn't contain anything dangerous. She still held on tightly to Elliot but was no longer completely burrowed in his side.

Suddenly a loud ringing noise was emmited from the pile of food they had unpacked. Olivia flung herself and burrowed herself in Elliot's side, obviously terrified. Tears began to fall freely from her eyes when the ringing continued. Elliot realized that the mobile phone they had been given was the ringing object. He picked up the phone and answered it with his usual, "Stabler."

"Elliot." Munch's voice came through strongly.

"John. Can you get us out of here?" I really need to get Liv out of here. She's breaking down, I don't know what to do, John. Is Huang there?"

"No," Munch responded anxiously, "I'll drive back to NY and get him to give you a call. It'll be in about an hour, and I'll go as fast as I can."

Both hung up swiftly following this conversation. Elliot once again comforting a sobbing and broken Olivia.

"How are they?" Fin asked, above the sound of the siren blaring above them.

"Elliot sounds okay, desperately worried about Olivia. He says she's breaking down, and you know as well as I do, for that to happen to Liv, something terrible had to have happened to her."

"Did he say anything else?" he asked as the crossed from Jersey into New York.

"He wanted to talk to Huang." Munch said worriedly.

Fin shook his head, for Elliot to be requesting the assistance of a shrink, Fin knew it had to be really bad regarding Olivia's mental condition.

They arrived at Casey's a little under an hour later. As soon as Casey saw them at the door, she began firing off questions.

"How are they? Did you find the camera's? Did you talk to them? Did –"

She was cut off by Munch saying loudly, "If you keep asking questions, I won't answer them."

Huang spoke softly, "Did you talk to them?"

Munch nodded affirmatively while Fin said, "Elliot wants to talk to you regarding Liv's condition."

Huang nodded worriedly, and picked up Casey's phone, dialing Don's familiar number. He put the phone on speaker. After a few dial tone rings, the phone picked up and Elliot's husky voice permeated the silent apartment.

"Stabler."

"Elliot, it's George. Munch and Fin said you wanted to talk to me about Olivia." He paused, "Can you put her on?"

"I would," Elliot sighed, "but she won't speak. She cries all the time, won't let go of me, keeps my hand in a vice grip and is terrified at the smallest thing."

At this a faint crying could be heard, which indicated that Elliot had put the phone on speaker.

"Ok," Huang said but before he cold continue a small scream was emitted before rustling noises came and Elliot saying soothingly, "It's alright, Liv. It's George, honey, remember, from work." There was a pause where Olivia had obviously nodded, based on what Elliot said next.

"Liv, sweetie, George an the rest of the gang are gonna help us get out of here. Thye want to talk to us, see if we are alriht, Ok." Again, Olivia must have nodded.

"Good, Now do you want to say hi?" Olivia shook her head. "Come on Liv. It's not bad." Again a 'no'. "Okay maybe later. George," Elliot asked quietly, "What do I do now?"

"You need to get her to talk. It doesn't matter how, you just need to do it. Keep talking to her gently, like this. You're with her so you can assess her more effectively, do you think she would want to hear the rest of us?"

"Maybe it might do her some good, but one at a time. Casey first."

"Liv," Casey's voice hitched, "Liv, talk to me. Please Livvie, I want my best friend back. The one who was so strong, helpful and so, so kind and forgiving." Casey burst into sobs, "Please Liv, come back to us. We can't function without you. Fin and Munch haven't joked and Munch hasn't even come up with a conspiracy theory." She choked on a laugh, "Please honey, Livvie, come back!"

Liv burrowed herself further into Elliot's side, hearing the sobs of one of her close friends. She chocked down her own sobs.

Munch's voice came over next, "Livvie you're always so strong. Don't break like this honey, come back to us. You know it could be like old times, us talking about conspiracies of the government and you eating your gross combination of popcorn and glow worms. We could go back to us laughing about how JFK's death was a huge conspiracy by the government. Livvie, please!" Munch managed to keep his tears at bay, eyes brimming.

Fin's gruff voice spoke next, tears evident, "Liv, my little basket ball player. Do you remember that time you played ball with us and, "he chuckled, 'the guy touched your stomach, you whiled around and kneed him. Can you come back and do it again. Liv, I'm sure even Mike would want you to come back and do it again. Please Liv!"

Cragen went last, "Liv, you're like a daughter to me. You can't leave. You've filled a hole within each of us we didn't know was missing, and if you don't come back our hearts will be left gaping. 'Livia please! I know you've always wanted a family, and you've got one. You can't turn your back on us. We want little Liv's running around and causing chaos, causing laughter. Please honey," he paused. "Elliot, I know we've only been talking to Liv but we really want you back too!" A chorus of "Yah's" followed, causing Olivia to once again hold him tighter.

"I know, Don." He said, "I want the old Liv back too. Anyway, what's happening with getting us out of here!"

"We got a plan but hopefully we'll have you out in a couple of days. Hang on Elliot, okay?"

"Talk to you later, we're getting tired." He yawned.

"Remember to keep trying," George reminded quickly.

"I will. Bye."

When he hung up, the group looked around at each other.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five:**

Elliot looked down at Olivia in his arms. She was still holding on tightly but was sleeping soundly. Slowly Elliot shifted, and he began to sleep also.

The next time he opened his eyes, there were in separate beds in a hospital. He tried to get up, but he was restricted by tubes coming in his wrists and arms. He felt a bandage around his head. He pressed the buzzer for a nurse. A moment later, a bustling chipper nurse arrive.

"Ah, we're up now!" she said loudly.

"Shhh." He said annoyed, before whispering. "Don't wake her up!"

"Oh, she's not waking up anytime soon! She woke up earlier, screaming so we sedated her. She won't wake up for a couple of hours."

Elliot felt his temper rise, "You idiot. She's just been beated and raped continually for over 50 hours and you force her to do something she's not comfortable with. Of course, she's terrified."

"Look sir. That isn't my concern. I just have to get her better so she can go home, and I don't care how I do it as long as it gets done. Alright?"

"Fine. Then get these things out of me, and I'm not leaving this room unless she asks me too. Alright!" he said angrily.

The nurse nodded before she went about her business, before grumbling leaving.

Elliot slowly got out of the hospital bed, and headed towards Olivia, who was still sleeping.

As Olivia began to stir, and her eyes began to adjust to the harsh lighting, tears of terror trailed freely down her cheeks. When a hand reached out to her, she shrank away from it, trying to make it go away.

"Liv," Elliot whispered, "Shhh, honey. I'm right here."

She began to relax, reaching out to Elliot as if he was her lifeline.

"Do you want any visitors?" Olivia shook her head and motioned for him to hold her. When he didn't move, she got out of bed and sat in his lap, her arms wrapped around his neck. Silently she nodded into his neck.

"You want visitors now?" he asked, surprised. She nodded again and Elliot pulled back the curtain revealing an anxious group that consisted of Munch, Fin, Casey, George, Alex, Cragen, Maureen, Kathleen, Elizabeth, Dickie and reluctantly smiling Kathy.

Noting the amount of people looking at her, Olivia buried her head into Elliot's shoulder, tears once again streaming down her face.

"Come on Olivia. Don't be shy." Kathy said snidely, "We all know you wanted to sleep with my husband. Now you got your chance."

Everyone in the room looked at Kathy in disbelief. After all Olivia had gone through, to say something like that took a person with no heart. Seeing Olivia's tears increase, Maureen took the initiative and pulled her mother out of the room, effectively quietening her loud protests.

"Sorry, Liv." Kathleen said apologetically, "She's gone of the rails. She drinks now," she revealed, "we're gonna stay with Dad, please come stay with us." As Kathleen waked to her and went to give her a hug, Olivia flinched and tried to move away. As Kathleens hand landed on her shoulder, Olivia screamed loudly, the first noise she'd made in a while. Kathleen pulled back instantly, apologizing profusely.

"Liv," Elliot said gently, "Liv, look me in the eyes." Olivia lifted her head slightly so she was looking at him. "Liv, honey. None of the people in this room are gonna hurt you, okay? I promise, no one here will ever hurt you, okay?" Olivia nodded and a small sound came from her mouth, sounding a little like an 'okay,'.

"Can I give you a hug, Liv?" Kathleen asked cautiously. Olivia considered a moment before quietly whispering in his ear. Elliot nodded but held up a finger to indicate there was a condition.

"No one approached from the back, and no kisses, and hugs must be very short. Agreed?"

Everyone complied and Olivia accepted each hug, flinching just slightly. She did not return the hugs but kept her arms safely wrapped around Elliot's neck.

Soon, everyone left and they were alone again. Both curled up on the bed and speaking in hushed tones. Elliot couldn't believe how wonderful it was to hear her voice again. Before either of them fell asleep that ngiht, the last thing either of them said to the other was "I love you!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six: **

****

_One year later _

"Come on Liv." Elliot said exasperatedly, "We have to be there in 10n minutes."

"I know, I know." She called back, "Just let me finish my hair."

A few moments later, Olivia came out of the bathroom door, looking in Elliot opinion, like the most beautiful woman on the planet.

"I can't believe it's actually today. He's really going to be my father." Olivia stated excitedly.

"Come on Liv," he repeated, "We really are gonna be late."

Olivia nodded before grabbing her back with one hand and Elliot's hand tightly with the other.

After the kidnapping and Olivia's rape, she didn't go anywhere alone. Mostly Elliot came with her, but often Casey joined her if he was unavailable. She was still nervous around all men, not including Elliot, and was not fond of any physical affection. On good days she could receive hugs without flinching but on bad days, no one could say anything or do anything affectionate to her. She was still plagued with nightmares but often, when she found Elliot next to her, she would calm down and fall back to sleep.

Elliot had been her rock for the past year. He had comforted her when she was scared, consoled her when she inconsolable, and he had loved her when she couldn't love herself. He was also the only one who could give gestures of affection. A little hug here and there, an occasional kiss which had become more frequent. They now lived together, with Elliot's four children, all of which called her 'Mom'. Kathy, after learning they were together, and her children supported this, had thrown them out, moved out of state, remarried and had another child, which the children were not allowed to visit.

While the children had been upset with this, they soon began to realize that Olivia had been more supportive and mother-like, than their own mother, regardless of the trauma she was recovering from, and they soon adopted her as 'Mom'.

After her ordeal, Don had been the very definition of the term, 'Dad'. He had supported her, advised her and given verbal support when she was confused about Elliot. Though all this she had truly realized the strength and depths o her affection and the depths of his. Both were monumental.

Elliot had began to talk to Munch about their relationship and while Munch hadn't been a successful love life, he did have the most experience with women and he was able to give advice.

Elliot had begun to try and find an appropriate time to propose but he needed al their help finding a ring. Eventually Maureen had been the one to stay with Olivia and while she had been great company, Olivia began to get scared that Elliot was gone for longer than an hour. Though, now, she was comfortable with the rest of the unit, she didn't like to be alone.

Together they walked out the door, Olivia leaning into Elliot's tight embrace. Arriving at the courthouse, they were greeted by a large group, that was considered family.

Each of them embraced Elliot tightly but offered only handshakes to Olivia, who they knew was not yet comfortable with open affection, though getting better.

She had been seeing Huang for almost a year now, and he had helped her realize that accepting these affectionate gestures would not mean that she would be hurt again. After extensive counseling, she could now receive affection from Elliot and females, though the rest of the 'family' was getting there.

"Come on honey," Elliot said gently, pulling her into the court room. "You need a father."

They had all walked in and filled in the paperwork, before Olivia began to feel nauseous. This often happened if she was in a closed room that smelt of wood and there was not visible way out.

Before she was able to go into full-fledged panic mode, Elliot, as if sensing her distress had quietly told Munch to open the doors. As the doors opened and light shone through, she relaxed and leant back into Elliot's embrace, her grasp on him loosening considerably.

As all the court papers were signed, a traditional reaction to such a moment would have been an embrace. Overcoming her fear, she reached forward and embraced Don in a hug, whispering, "Daddy", in his ear.

Don hugged her back, still surprised by her affectionate gesture. After all Elliot, Casey and the girls had been the only one's who could show her affection without causing some sort of negative reaction.

Munch tentatively held out his arms for a hug, after she left Don's embrace. She shyly reached forward and embraced John before turning to Fin and Dickie.

"Come on guys. I'll shout you lunch at our place." Olivia said quietly, leaning back into Elliot's chest comfortably.

They all nodded and Elliot and Olivia led the way to their new place.

After they had been attacked, Olivia had not been able to go back to the apartment she had lived in for five years. The darkness and lack of windows had continually made her nervous. Their new apartment was light and warm with comforting Autumn colors. Glass was everywhere and light flooded throughout the apartment. It was also large, a master bedroom ensuite, kitchen, formal and informal dining and lounge, an extra bedroom and laundry.

Maureen and Kathleen shared a room, although Maureen was often away at college. Lizzie and Kathleen both had individual rooms though spent most of their time in the lounge with the television. Each of the children had dreams. Maureen was engaged to be married and studying psychology, Kathleen was eighteen and was almost ready to begin med school. Lizzie and Dickie were only in ninth grade but they had both their dreams in sight. Dickie wanted to be a teacher and Lizzie, a professional piano player.

As they reached their apartment, Elliot began to fiddle nervously. Olivia looked at him worriedly.

"El, honey, are you alright?" she questioned softly.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He answered distractedly.

Olivia looked more closely at him, he was wringing his hands absentmindedly, his cheeks were tainted with a light blush and little droplets of perspiration were starting to collect on his forehead.

"Please, El. Tell me." She asked again quietly.

"Liv, honey. I'll talk to you about it later, alright?" he answered her, just a quietly.

Olivia nodded her head slowly, though her thoughts kept racing through her mind wondering what he could be hiding from her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven: **

They arrived at the apartment, and after making their way up, closed the door, quietly and everyone looked in wonder at the bright welcoming atmosphere.

As they settled with their drinks, they began to discuss anything under the son including their love lives or lack there of.

As they began to get in detail about after hours work, Elliot suddenly got down on one knee and grasped Olivia's hand tightly.

"Olivia, you have through so much in the past year. Yet you have overcome your fears fought back. You're stronger than anyone I have known and your courage and strength is only one of the many aspects of you that I love. Your kindness, compassion and warmth are facts that just make you more beautiful. Olivia Serena Benson, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" Eliot asked, pulling out a black box, which opened lighting the room with many beautiful shadow patterns.

Olivia nodded her head, tears rolling unchecked down her cheeks. "Yes," she whispered, "Yes, I will!"

Elliot placed the diamond ring on her finger before picking her up and placing a long, gentle but passionate kiss on her lips. As he let go, she looked down at the ring and gasped at the beauty of it.

It as made of yellow gold with three stones. The middle stone, a diamond, represented eternity. The stoned on either side of the diamond were their birth stones. Engraved was a simple message, '_My heart, my soul, my life_'.

All present in the room, quickly stood and hugged the newly-engaged couple, while congratulating them.

Time passed quickly for the couple, but not nearly as fast as they would have wished. Arrangements for catering, dresses, tuxes, tables, locations, vows and such needed to be made and it was easily driving the couple insane. A few times they considered eloping, but realized the rest of the family wouldn't be present, so the idea was quickly quashed.

Throughout the frantic arrangements for the wedding, no one remembered the disaster that had caused these events to unfold. Nick Ganzner was not given a second thought by anyone and no one thought he would again disrupt their precious peace.

Every Tuesday, Olivia saw Huang as a patient, in order to recover from the traumatic event that had previously occurred.

"How are you doing this week?" Huang asked.

"Still having nightmares. Not so often anymore. With planning the wedding and looking after the kids, I'm so exhausted I don't dream. I hope it'll be that way when I go back to work."

"Are you sure you want to go back to work?" he asked, following her subject change.

"I want to. I need to get back to normal." She paused, "Going back to work is part of that."

"Are you sure that it won't be too much for you?"

"No," she said, but then continued firmly, "The subject matter will affect me more, but I'm sure I can live with that. Anyway, I have Elliot that I can talk to. I used to keep everything so bottled inside, but now I can let it out."

"When do you think you'll go back?" he asked, accepting her thoughts.

"After the honeymoon. Kathleen will be in college then, and Lizzie and Dickie will be starting back at school."

Huang nodded before changing the subject. The therapy session finished a half hour later and Olivia left, heading home once more.

The last week before the wedding, Olivia made outstanding progress in her recovery. Her desire for wanting to make love to Elliot on their honeymoon inspired the magnificent change and recovery that everyone saw.

On Thursday, two days after the therapy session with Huang, Olivia walked into the station, no longer fearing the place. As she arrived, John walked up to her and stuck out his hand, for a handshake, as per usual. Olivia brushed his hand aside and pulled him into a tight embrace. John returned the embrace, stunned, and just as tightly.

Fin laughed at the expression on John's face and Cragen wandered out of his office, wondering what the sudden laughter was about. When Olivia pulled back, she embraced Fin tightly also before turning to Cragen, which she embraced tightly also, and remained in his embrace, leaning against his chest.

"Where's Elliot?" Olivia asked, still leaning against Cragen's chest.

"He's interviewing a vic." Cragen stated, looking down at the woman still leaning against him, "Do you want us to get him for you?"

"Nah. It's okay. I'll hang out with you guys if that's okay."

The group nodded and looked once again stunned at Olivia's change. It was almost as if they had the old Olivia back. They sat and talked for close to an hour, before Elliot made an appearance.

"Liv, honey. Have you been waiting long?"

"Oh," Olivia said walking over to him and giving him a deep kiss, "About an hour."

"And you didn't mind?" he asked incredulously, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Nope. I'm getting better." She said happily.

They discussed her recovery more before talking about when she would start working again. The wedding was in two weeks, and for once everything was going to be just fine.


End file.
